Geneva: 33 countries report 920 probable cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology in children as of June 22, 2022, the World Health Organization stated here today.
Since the previous Disease Outbreak News published on May 27, 2022, 270 new probable cases have been reported to WHO, including from four new countries.
There are four additional countries that have reported cases which are pending classification and are not included in the cumulative probable case count. Of the probable cases, 45 (5%) children have required transplants, and 18 (2%) deaths have been reported to WHO.
Half of the probable reported cases have been reported from the WHO European Region (20 countries reporting 460 cases), including 267 cases (29% of global cases) from the United Kingdom.
The second-highest number of probable cases have been reported from the Region of the Americas (n=383, including 305 cases from the United States of America), followed by the Western Pacific Region (n=61), the South-East Asia Region (n=14) and Eastern Mediterranean Region (n=2). Seventeen countries are reporting more than five probable cases. The actual number of cases may be underestimated, in part due to the limited enhanced surveillance schemes in place.
This outbreak was initially detected on April 5, 2022, when the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the United Kingdom) notified WHO of ten cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology in previously healthy young children aged under 10 years in the central belt of Scotland.
– global bihari bureau
